Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular 2015 - Track Nine - Duppy Dance

Herman Chin-Loy first got involved in the music business by working for his cousin Leslie Kong at his Beverely's record shop in the early 60s. In 1969 he, in collaboration with his brother Lloyd, opened the Aquarius Record Store in Half Way Tree and quickly transitioned into producing a string of instrumental tracks such as "African Zulu," "Reggae In The Fields" and "Invasion." His early recordings featured Lloyd Charmers and the Hippy Boys as well as the Barrett Brothers, undoubtedly the hardest working siblings in early reggae, and I think it would be safe in assuming that the Aquarius Soul Band, the name credited on the record, are actually some variation of the aforementioned personnel working under Chin-Loy's assigned name. And now that we've got the band covered, let's move on to today's track.

The next track up in the 2015 Spooktacular is a an early-reggae instrumental by the Aquarius Soul Band called, "Duppy Dance" and it comes from a 1971 7" on UK based Punch Records label. This is in fact the b-side to Herman's "To The Fields" oddly titled on this release as "Hold The Ghost." Regardless of whatever potential miscommunication that lead to this incorrect labeling back in '71, its supernatural moniker is good enough to welcome it with open arms into the blood-curdling vault of terrifying Jamaican records tucked away in my seemingly nondescript bedroom closet. "Duppy Dance" is pretty much a stripped down and simplified version of the much-beloved African Beat riddim minus the horns and it chugs along nicely with its occasional organ embellishment and some haunted house mayhem courtesy of yours truly.